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Published: July 21st 2014
Matsumoto-jō
First moat. There used to be 2 more as land around the castle was marsh. Many other castles were built in the hills.To the average Westerner such as myself, the Japanese language can seem quite daunting. The whole time I was in Japan I thought that 'jō' meant castle as in Matsumoto-jō is Matsumoto Castle. Not exactly, at least according to the ultimate source for all translations... Google. But if I told people I was going to Matsumoto-jō they understood. I think 'shiro' might be the actual word for castle.
After the Alps I spent a few days in Tokyo which was fine, albeit brutally humid, and not nearly as expensive as I was expecting. Last Thursday I flew to Vladivostok, Russia, yesterday to Irkutsk, tomorrow to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, then no more flights for nearly the next 2 months.
Всего Хорошего!
Matsumoto
Matsumoto first appeared sleazy as I initially spent an inordinate amount of time in the seedy area around the train station. But after a sake brewery tour with samples (all no charge) and visiting the castle (¥610 entry), it grew on me. There are a couple of sake breweries in the vicinity but I opted for EH-shuzou because it was on the JR line and the other brewery is not. I gathered that the brewery operation is seasonal
and it was not functioning this time of year. However, that did not preclude a generous product sampling including the rice wine judged to be the best in the world. I actually preferred the plum wine over the all the swilled sakes.
There are volunteer, English speaking guides available at the castle and I had a very good guide named Mitsuto who only works on Fridays. They can be arranged at the south entrance to the castle grounds before the ticket booth. Can't miss them. The castle is original, built in the 1590s, and renovated several times during the last century. It is unique in that unlike all the other wooden castles in Japan, Matsumoto-jō never burned down. Easy to see why the castle is listed as a National Treasure of Japan.
Accommodation and food I reserved 2 nights at Ryokan Matsukaze for what turned out to be ¥3,150 per night (normally more but I think there must have been a discount for more than 1 night) for my own comfortable, Japanese style room with a share bathroom, WiFi, mandatory air con, and plenty of green tea. It's a bit far from Matsumoto's action, i.e., castle and the
Inui Kotenshu, a.k.a., Northwest Minor Keep
Inui supposedly means "dried" according to google translate. Northwest is probably more accurate, Matsumoto. train station red light district that seems to contain most of the restaurants, but for a short stay it's fine. The owners will supposedly pick up from the train station which can probably be arranged at the tourist office there upon arrival. There's a great French pastry shop at the train station. In front of the train station is a small cafe of the variety where ordering is done by a vending machine which spits out a receipt taken to the kitchen staff. Rice bowl with beef and miso soup went for ¥450. Ample menu pictures helped immensely. A couple of blocks past the left side of McDonald's is a very small, very crowded restaurant. To find it, look for the kegs scattered in front on the sidewalk. A nice plate of sashmi, rice, and miso soup was ¥880.
Transport Approximately hourly JR local trains head north to Hakuba (via a probable change in Shinano-Omachi) for ¥1,140 taking more than 1½ hours or the Azusa Express makes the direct run for ¥2,840 (¥2,320 in an unreserved seat) in an hour. JR passes valid on both trains. For Tokyo, the best train is the Azusa Express to Shinjuku. Runs ~hourly,
Matsumoto-jō
Northwest Minor Keep to the right. takes just over 2½ hours, and costs ¥6,900 or ¥6,380 unreserved. To get to the EH sake brewery take any JR Oito Line train north a few stops to Azusabashi (¥190 or free with a JR pass) and walk 15 minutes to the well signed brewery. I went there for a morning sake tasting then on the way back alighted at Kita Matsumoto which was closer to the castle than the main station.
Nagano
I was really wiped after the all night ascent of Fuji and the interminably long, subsequent train trip so I didn't enjoy Nagano as much as Matsumoto which I visited later. The Zenkō-ji Temple was close to where I stayed so I spent most of my 2 days in Nagano walking around the grounds (free entry, ¥500 for the inner sanctuary). Also volunteer, English speaking guides but best to arrange in advance which can be done via email through a link on the temple website English version.
Accommodation and food Chuokan Shimizuya Ryokan is just a few minutes walk from the temple. Since I'd be arriving straight from Fuji, I wanted a place reserved and, aside from a hostel, this was the only "budget"
The Hidden Third Floor
The inspiration for the 7th½ floor in "Being John Malkovich." No windows so from outside castle appears to only have 5 floors, Matsumoto. place I could find. Two nights through booking.com was ¥9,900 for a single with the same amenities as the Mastumoto ryokan except there was a proper hot tub which was awesome for a soak after the volcano climb. It was a bit expensive and I regretted spending more than one night not just because of the price. The extra night had a domino effect which led me to hike in the Alps in the pouring rain instead of during the glorious sunshine the day prior. Easy access from the train station by several city buses (¥150).
Many restaurants closed early and for the first real meal after the Fuji climb all I could find was Mo's Burgers for their version of a Happy Meal for ~¥800. Fortunately there is a great all you can eat Indian buffet (¥850) at Joy Guru a few blocks down the street from the guesthouse. Needless to say, for 2 days after the Fuji climb I was able to consume mass quantities. Many bar/cafes in the Gondo Arcade, also slightly seedy, but the random place I walked into served a
setto consisting of 3 small dishes, one of which was
sashimi, and an ice
Roof Detail
Matsumoto-jō cold pint of Asahi beer for ¥1,000. Regular patrons kept their own bottles of alcohol in the bar and one offered me a shot of shōchū - a 70° alcoholic beverage distilled from sweet potatoes. The bottle's owner drank his in water while mine was straight, a bit harsh, but still not too shabby...
Transport Back to Matsumoto I had to take a local train instead of a faster express because the authorities had closed the express line as a precaution against the coming typhoon. For Tokyo there are
shinkansen trains; for Hakuba there are direct, private buses for ¥1,600 or take JR trains with a transfer in Matsumoto.
Hakuba
Cool area, figuratively and literally as it's 800+ meters ASL and much more comfortable than Tokyo, my next destination. Site of the alpine events during the 1998 Winter Olympics.
Accommodation and food Hakuba Alps Backpackers is a few minutes walk from JR Kamishiro station which itself is 2 stops south of Hakuba. I was the only guest and had my own 6 person dorm room for ¥2,500. There was a good kitchen so I prepared all my own food procured at Aeon MaxValu close to Hakuba. The
Roof Detail
To ward off evil, Matsumoto-jō. hostel has free bikes. The ride to Hakuba is ~20, mostly flat, minutes.
Transport Local JR trains make the 7 minute run between Kamishiro and Hakuba about once an hour for ¥190 (JR pass valid). The trip to Tokyo started with a 7:53 departure from Kamishiro for Matsumoto with a change in Shinano-Omachi. There was a 20 minute layover for the Azusa train, plenty of time to hit the French pastry shop. The Azusa left Matsumoto at 9:54, arriving at Shinjuku at 12:33 where absolutely packed, local JR trains run every few minutes to Kanda station which was 2 blocks from my Tokyo capsule hotel.
Shirouma-dake hike Big mistake doing this hike in the rain although the day did not start out so badly. The hostel owner had told me the day before that the forecast called for sun which was a surprise to me as I had seen a completely different prognostication. But once I spent a ridiculous ¥1,000 for the 25 minute, one way bus ride from Hakuba train station (dep. 7:05) to Sarukura I felt that I was committed. I left Sarukura just after 7:30 and reached the Daisekkei (Big Snow Valley perennially filled with
Roof Detail
Also possibly to ward off evil as they did not take any chances, Matsumoto-jō. snow) ~8:30. From there it was necessary to don the 4 point instep crampons borrowed from the hostel to ascend the fairly hard snow for ~500 meters. It started to sprinkle yet I foolishly forged on even as the clouds began to billow in. By the time I reached the first lodge at 10:47 it was pouring. Thirty one minutes above the lodge was the exposed summit with howling winds so on the descent I took a half hour pit stop to thaw out at a different lodge closer to the summit. Back at the Daisekkei ~13:30 I removed the crampons and reached the Sarukura parking lot at 14:14 completely soaked.
The bus departed for Hakuba right on time precisely at 13:35 (another ¥1,000). At the station I had several minutes to soak in the free foot
onsen before catching the 15:49 train back to Kamishiro where I could crank up the space heater in the room and dry out my clothes. Unfortunately, my camera had also gotten wet and seemed to be totally fried but became semi-revived after a night in front of the space heater. None the less, it is very a tedious series of steps to
Mitsuto and I on the Sixth Floor
He told me that it is occasionally so crowded that you can't make it up here but we were lucky to have the floor almost to ourselves, Matsumoto-jō. make it work so in Tokyo I bought a new camera and will try to repair my old one in Central Asia or Moscow.
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